Let me add some context here:
In Frank Herbert’s Dune, there is this sentence:
“I know the Dark Things and the ways of the Great Mother,” Jessica said. She read the more obvious signs in Mapes’ actions and appearance, the petit betrayals.
If the betrayals are petit, they are not immediately noticeable to normal folks, and only noticeable to Jessica because of her special training regarding such stuff (don’t worry, this is not even a spoiler). What am I missing?
More is a relative adverb, a comparison. Thus, the more obvious signs are more obvious than the other signs, but they can still be extremely subtle.
If it were very obvious signs than they would be obvious in a more absolute sense, but just being more obvious just means the other signs are even less obvious.
While already answered, Frank is a master word smith and this sentence provides tone beyond the literal sense. What is being narrated is super human ability and while it is not explicit, it is implicit that should she try she could read deeper. Thus Jessica has a causal relaxed air about her in this moment. Much of Dune is about intrigue and in setting this moment as casual it allows a more pronounced sense of stress to be built up later.
